Portuguese · Body & Health

"Cough" in Portuguese: tosse

a tosse

TOH-seefeminine · a tossenoun/ˈtosi/

Cough in Portuguese is a tosse. Say estou com tosse when you have one. Tosse seca is a dry cough; xarope para tosse is cough syrup.

How to pronounce tosse: audio and sound guide

Night sleep

A tosse não me deixou dormir direito.

The cough didn’t let me sleep properly.

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How to pronounce tosse

Say it

TOH-see

/ˈtosi/

TOH-see

"Cough" in Portuguese: quick reference

Portuguese	English	When to use
a tosse	the cough Default noun.	Default noun.
estar com tosse	to have a cough Symptom.	Symptom.
tosse seca	dry cough Type.	Type.
xarope para tosse	cough syrup Medicine.	Medicine.

How to use tosse in real life

1Night sleep
A tosse não me deixou dormir direito.
The cough didn’t let me sleep properly.
example 1 playback speed
Night.
2Pharmacy
Tem xarope para tosse seca?
Do you have syrup for a dry cough?
Ask.
3Meeting
Desculpa a tosse; estou recuperando de um resfriado.
Sorry about the cough; I’m recovering from a cold.
Excuse.

Mistakes English speakers make with tosse

Incorrect: Eu tenho cough.

Correct: Eu estou com tosse.

Use tosse, not English cough.

Incorrect: O tosse está forte.

Correct: A tosse está forte.

Tosse is feminine.

Good to know

Tosse shows up with resfriado and alergia talk. Pharmacies ask if it’s seca or com catarro. Covering your mouth on the metro is expected politeness, not optional.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

At the pharmacy counter

ChatPal
A tosse começou quando?
When did the cough start?
You
Há três dias. A tosse piora à noite.
Three days ago. The cough gets worse at night.
ChatPal
Vou te indicar um xarope para tosse.
I’ll suggest a cough syrup for you.
You
Obrigada. Prefiro algo sem sono.
Thanks. I prefer something non-drowsy.